c.1300, cronicle, from Anglo-French cronicle, from Old French cronique "chronicle" (Modern French chronique), from Latin chronica (neuter plural mistaken for fem. singular), from Greek ta khronika (biblia) "the (books of) annals, chronology," neuter plural of khronikos "of time, concerning time," from khronos "time" (see chrono-). Ending modified in Anglo-French, perhaps by influence of article. Old English had cranic "chronicle," cranicwritere "chronicler." The classical -h- was restored in English from 16c.

before vowels chron-, word-forming element meaning "time," from Latinized form of Greek khrono-, comb. form of khronos "time, a defined time, a lifetime, a season, a while," which is of uncertain origin.

U.S. automobile corporation, organized 1925 as Chrysler Corporation by Walter P. Chrysler (1875-1940) out of the old Maxwell Motor Co. (Maxwell produced a car named Chrysler in 1924). The name is a spelling variant of German Kreisler, perhaps related to kreisel "spinning top," but the sense connection is unclear.

ME chubbe ... was also used of a "lazy, spiritless fellow; a rustic, simpleton; dolt, fool" (1558), whilst Bailey has "Chub, a Jolt-head, a great-headed, full-cheeked Fellow," a description reminiscent of that of the chevin, another name for the chub ... Thus the nickname may have meant either "short and thick, dumpy like a chub," or "of the nature of a chub, dull and clownish." ["Dictionary of English Surnames"]

"piece of wood or meat," 1670s, probably a variant of chock (n.) "block." "Chock and chuck appear to have been originally variants of the same word, which are now somewhat differentiated" [OED]. Specifically of shoulder meat from early 18c. American English chuck wagon (1880) is from the meat sense.

Chock and Chuck, Are low terms, very frequently used before full,--as the coach was chock full of passengers. The house was chuck full. [Daniel Powers, "A Grammar on an Entirely New System," West Brookfield, 1845]

"friend," 1680s, originally university slang for "roommate," from alternative spelling of cham, short for chamber(mate); typical of the late-17c. fondness for clipped words. Among derived forms used 19c. were chumship; chummery "shared bachelor quarters," chummage "system of quartering more than one to a room."

Old English cirice, circe "church, public place of worship; Christians collectively," from Proto-Germanic *kirika (cognates: Old Saxon kirika, Old Norse kirkja, Old Frisian zerke, Middle Dutch kerke, Dutch kerk, Old High German kirihha, German Kirche), probably [see note in OED] from Greek kyriake (oikia), kyriakon doma "Lord's (house)," from kyrios "ruler, lord," from PIE root *keue- "to swell" ("swollen," hence "strong, powerful"); see cumulus. Phonetic spelling from c.1200, established by 16c. For vowel evolution, see bury. As an adjective from 1570s.

Greek kyriakon (adj.) "of the Lord" was used of houses of Christian worship since c.300, especially in the East, though it was less common in this sense than ekklesia or basilike. An example of the direct Greek-to-Germanic progress of many Christian words, via the Goths; it probably was used by West Germanic people in their pre-Christian period.

Also picked up by Slavic, probably via Germanic (Old Church Slavonic criky, Russian cerkov). Finnish kirkko, Estonian kirrik are from Scandinavian. Romance and Celtic languages use variants of Latin ecclesia (such as French église, 11c.).

Church-bell was in late Old English. Church-goer is from 1680s. Church key is early 14c.; slang use for "can or bottle opener" is by 1954, probably originally U.S. college student slang. Church-mouse, proverbial in many languages for its poverty, is 1731 in English.

It had various meaning in early Middle English, including "man of the common people," "a country man," "husbandman," "free peasant;" by 1300, it meant "bondman, villain," also "fellow of low birth or rude manners." For words for "common man" that acquire an insulting flavor over time, compare boor, villain. In this case, however, the same word also has come to mean "king" in many languages (such as Lithuanian karalius, Czech kral, Polish król) via Charlemagne.

1725, American English, "fall of water" (earlier shoot, 1610s), from French chute "fall," from Old French cheoite "a fall," fem. past participle of cheoir "to fall," from Latin cadere (see case (n.1)). Meaning "inclined tube, trough" is from 1804; that of "narrow passage for cattle, etc." first recorded 1881. In North America, absorbing some senses of similar-sounding shoot (n.1).

also hutzpah, 1892, from Yiddish khutspe "impudence, gall." from Hebrew hutspah. The classic definition is that given by Leo Rosten: "that quality enshrined in a man who, having killed his mother and father, throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan."

early 15c., "bodily fluid;" c.1600 in specific sense of "mass of semi-liquid food in the stomach," from Latin chymus, from Greek khymos, nearly identical to khylos (see chyle) and meaning essentially the same thing. Differentiated by Galen, who used khymos for "juice in its natural or raw state," and khylos for "juice produced by digestion," hence the modern distinction.